Mudbug Madness Festival Makes a Great Excuse
to Visit Shreveport and Bossier City, LA

by Jo Ann Holt

We spent Memorial Day Weekend at a festive annual event called Mudbug Madness down by the Red River in Shreveport, LA, which encouraged festival-goers to eat lots of spicy crawfish and other Cajun and Creole specialties like Jambalaya, dirty rice and gumbo.  While I will admit that mudbugs are not my favorite delicacy (I remember turning up my 10-year-old nose at them when my Lake Charles cousins caught them with bacon bits), we couldn’t resist the invitation to sample the wares (and the contagious Zydeco music) at the Mudbug Madness Festival.

Plus it made a great excuse to re-visit the neighboring cities of Shreveport and Bossier City, home to numerous casino boats and a race track that has poured new streams of revenue into the Northwest Louisiana area, only 20 miles east of the Texas state line.   There is so much more for visitors to the area to see than just the casinos, ranging from family favorite Gators and Friends, an exotic animal park, to the beautifully serene Gardens of the American Rose Center, the Barnwell Garden Center, or the Norton Museum with its renovated galleries and lovely landscaped park areas. 

Other popular side trips for families are the Waterway Museum and a delightful hour-long Spirit of the Red River cruise conducted by Captain Sandy with lots of historic tidbits thrown in.  Several young girls were allowed to help steer the boat, and duly rewarded with applause from fellow passengers and beads from the captain.   The captain pointed out a Cajun fisherman on the bank who had recently caught an 89 pound catfish from the river; it was thrilling to see a master practicing his art.

There are a myriad of art galleries, art spaces (like Artspace at the West Edge of downtown, a gallery that features local artists and has a great upstairs café) and museums in the area, plus the downtown Robinson film center that presents independent films and also boasts an upstairs bistro.   

It had been at least 20 years since I’d visited Shreveport/Bossier City, and the energetic growth of these cities was very impressive.  The Metro area has a population of 355,586 and growing, with many of the newcomers talented artists and filmmakers working with the still expanding Millennium Films Studios (where “The Guardian” starring Kevin Costner was produced in 2005, and other films); they moved to Shreveport in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Touring the studio we were thrilled to see star Gerard Butler working on the set for a soccer scene for new film “Playing the Film,” which also stars Dennis Quaid and Catherine Zeta-Jones. 

 Shreveport native William Joyce is a celebrated artist and author whose Moonbot Digital film studios is attracting talented young graphic artists and illustrators to work on animated films, apps and other projects, including the recently unveiled Starbucks film/app “Morris Lessmore” from his Fantastic Flying Book series.   

We stayed at the Shreveport Hilton Hotel and Convention Center, which offered free access to a 24-hour business center and free wi-fi, must haves and much appreciated by journalists.  We were taken on a three-day tour of the area by Pat and Brandi from the Convention and Visitors Bureau, who shared new surprises and fun discoveries every day.  Let’s start with the really important finds, such as great local food favorites like Fertitta’s Delicatessen on Fairfield Ave. in Shreveport.  The first imported food store and catering service in Shreveport, the crowded café was home to the popular Muffy, a yummy sandwich invented by current owner Agatha Fertitta McCall’s father, something like a New Orleans-style Muffeletta, but with a wonderful secret recipe olive spread that was so good I brought home a jar. 

Another treat was breakfast at the Glenwood Village Tea Room, where we enjoyed delicious steaming cups of hot tea and the best scones (served with lemon curd and Devonshire Cream) I’ve ever tasted.  They specialize in afternoon teas that sound so heavenly, when I return to Shreveport I’ll skip lunch in favor of one of their afternoon teas.  I bought an appealingly named tea called Writer’s Block Tea, and have found it most effective in spurring creative juices, although maybe it’s all in my imagination.  Either way, it is quite delicious and I wish I’d bought more.

We also were invited to make candy at the Chocolate Crocodile in the Boardwalk at Bossier City, where Cindy and Jim Ragon taught us how they made luscious chocolate creations, showing us how to swirl and decorate strawberries.    The Boardwalk has lots of terrific outlet stores, but I spent most of my disposable income buying clothes and gifts from the Earthbound Trading Company.

An absolutely blissful meal  was served at Jack Binion’s Steak House, “acclaimed as one of the most distinguished dining establishments in the Ark-La-Tex area with a menu offering fresh seafood, U.S.D.A. prime grade steaks, and an unusual variety of fine foods,” located in the Horseshoe Casino Hotel in Bossier City.  We started with shared platters of incredibly large shrimp, (cocktail and coconut) crab legs and other goodies, graduating to a delicious crab bisque, followed by a perfectly cooked filet mignon served with veggies and assorted breads.  For dessert, bread pudding, key lime pie and crème brulee’ were all melt-in-your-mouth good.   So this is how the high rollers live!

We were about to find out, since we were invited to tour the hotel’s luxury suites and a penthouse suit.  The luxury suites were spacious and elegant, so we were eager to see the penthouse suite.  Sure enough, even the halls on that special-key floor were more plushly decorated and inviting.  We arrived outside the suite to discover the key wasn’t working, so our tour guide called for reinforcements.  When the master key holder arrived, we were ushered into an unbelievably spacious hallway with impressive columns like we were going into the Coliseum.  As one of our group made a quick dash into the bathroom, shouting she had “first dibs” since she couldn’t wait another minute, when  “What’s going on?” boomed a deep male voice as a semi-nude man appeared at the far end of the hallway, asking again “who are you people?”  

We all made a swift retreat as we backed out of the suite, forgetting for a moment that we had left a hostage in the bathroom.  Luckily, she was able to extradite herself without, she claims, even catching a glimpse of the barely clothed tenant.  Apparently the hotel was so full that someone downstairs had booked the empty Penthouse Suite while we were dining, neglecting to tell our tour guide.  We decided we’d seen enough of the good life for the night, calling it quits without another tour (except to goggle at the Million Dollar Wall downstairs on the way out).

But the best was yet to come!  An unforgettable treat was in store for us Friday.  After being wowed by local artist Bennett Sewell’s mind-blowing exhibition (It’s What You Make of It: Works by Bennett Sewell) at the Meadows Museum on the campus of Centenary College of Louisiana University, we were invited to a private dinner party at the artist’s home and studio that night.  About 20 people, including friends, colleagues, wife and other family members of the prolific artist and former pathologist welcomed us as we gathered in the uniquely decorated upstairs loft space, filled with fascinating art and vintage collections and the smells of spicy barbecued brisket, pork loin and Cajun boiled shrimp.  This was certainly a night to relish and remember, rehashed frequently the next day.  Sewell’s innovative and witty art exhibition features a family of dog-like creatures, made from found objects and displaying very human foibles, on display at the Meadows Museum through July 31, is easily worth the drive to Shreveport.

 Shreveport/Bossier City Destination Highlights:

Artspace, 710 Texas Street, Shreveport, LA 71101 www.artspaceShreveport.com

Barnwell Garden & Art Center, www.barnwellcenter.com

Gardens of the American Rose Center, Jefferson Paige Road, www.ars.org

Gators & Friends Alligator Park and Exotic Zoo, www.gatorsandfriends.com

Glenwood Village & Tearoom, www.glenwoodvillagetearoom.com

Hilton Shreveport and convention center, www.Shreveport.hilton.com

Horseshoe Casino Hotel, Bossier City, LA, www.horseshoebossier.com

J. Bennett Johnston Waterway Visitor Center, www.redriverwaterway.com

Louisiana Boardwalk, Bossier City, www.louisianaboardwalk.com

Millennium Films and Moonbot Digital Media Studios,  www.Shreveport-Bossierfilms.com

Mud bug Madness, Downtown Shreveport Unlimited www.mudbugmadness.com

Robinson Film Center, downtown Shreveport, www.robinsonfilmcenter.org

RW Norton Art Gallery, 4747 Creswell Avenue, Shreveport, LA 71106; www.RWNAF.org

Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau, www.shreveport-bossier.org

Spirit of the Red River Cruise, www.redrivercruise.com

Photos courtesy of Shreveport-Bossier City CVB.